Month: September 2016

It was a summer I will cherish for years. Memories of Portugal, Spain and a plethora of festivals/concerts/sets will never leave me. The past couple times I’ve done a songs of the summer list, I’ve only included songs from the year in question. I’ve asked different questions in 2016, so the songs herein are from whenever. Here are the songs that helped soundtrack my unforgettable summer:

30. Ryan Hemsworth – Surrounded

29. That Poppy – American Kids

28. Biffy Clyro – Friends and Enemies

27. Daughter – Doing The Right Thing/How

26. The Joy Formidable – Liana

25. One Republic – Kids

24. Ofelia K – I Love My Lawyer

23. Bob Moses – Tearing Me Up

22. The Tragically Hip – The Depression Suite

Bonus: Grimes – Go

21. Catfish and The Bottlemen – 7

20. Fidlar – Cheap Beer

19. Broods – Freak of Nature f. Tove Lo/1000x/Bedroom Door

18. Bear’s Den – Gabriel

Bonus: Wolf Alice – Soapy Water

17. Kanye – Fade/Waves/Saint Pablo

16. Glass Animals – Youth

15. Band of Horses – Casual Party

14. Gareth Emery – Reckless

13. Britney Spears – Make Me/Love Me Down

12. John Grant – Marz

11. The Chainsmokers – Roses

Bonus: The Vaccines – Post Break-Up Sex/A Lack of Understanding

10. Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Some Other Arms

Slow-tempo magic. I adore this song.

9. Dan Deacon – When I Was Done Dying

The sound of flight. Of rebirth. Of mice and men and death back then. The sound of making anew, and birds as your crew.

8. The 1975 – Loving Someone

Loving Someone really came alive as I saw the band twice this summer, thrice overall this year. The chorus is massive.

7. Marshmello – Alone

Undeniably dope, Alone is one monster dance track.

6. Hana – Clay/Underwater/White

I fell in love with Hana’s music this summer. These 3 songs are why.

5. The 1975 – A Change of Heart

It’s been several months since I first heard this track, and I cannot escape it. It remains indomitable. One of the best songs of the year, hands down.

4. Two Door Cinema Club – Cigarettes In The Theatre

When I experienced this song at Nos Alive in Lisbon, the crowd went mental. Out of the countless songs and sets I’ve heard live, this ranks at the top for/of memorable performances. An already fabulous song made immortal.

3. Jamie XX – Gosh

I threw all kinds of shapes and danced like my body was a singular fit conniption. I saw Gosh at two different festivals this summer, on back-to-back nights, in Portugal and Spain, and the music took me to another place both times. A place where my body and the beat were present, but where my mind moved to nether regions. I will never forget that transportation.

2. Villagers – Nothing Arrived (Acoustic)

I waited for something, and something died, so I waited for nothing, and nothing arrived.

1. The 1975 – You

I didn’t know You.

I heard the song live thrice this year, though it didn’t immediately clutch claws into my arm and smack me upside the head. Only on the last occasion did I get an inkling. But I didn’t really know You until…

I found You in Barcelona.

I was walking down Passeig de Sant Joan to the Arc de Triomf and the sun was grinning cheekily behind marshmallow-white clouds. I saw a man blowing soap bubbles for passers by, children rapt by the disappearing orbs, a rollerblading girl with strawberry blonde hair dressed in a black tank-top and black shorts, and I found You there.

I locked into You as my over-ear headphones carried the message. I sat and smiled, I walked and smiled, and the sounds that held my face muscles in place encouraged — necessitated — the abandonment of everything. Everything but You.

It takes a bit more. More than any or most or pretty much all other songs to do what You did.

To add marvel to the day. To forge some clarity amidst the fray. To let me see the shadows shake hands with the brightness. To take a moment. To make that moment linger. To reveal a layer or two, about me, about You.